


Curiosity Kills The Kino

by nanuk_dain



Category: Stargate Universe
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-04
Updated: 2011-05-04
Packaged: 2017-10-19 00:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/194692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/pseuds/nanuk_dain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eli watches something he's sure he shouldn't have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Curiosity Kills The Kino

[ ](http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/nanuk_dain/16335757/36135/36135_original.jpg)

It was boredom that made Eli pick up a kino. It was night – or what they had established as nighttime – and he knew he should take the opportunity to sleep, but he felt restless and unable to relax enough to fall asleep. He had played around with the kino in his room for a while, then he'd decided that if he couldn't sleep, there was no reason to stay in his quarters. So he left, the remote control in his hands and the kino somewhere in front of him in the corridor. He strode to the control room, wondering if Dr Rush had something to do for him to occupy his mind. He usually had, so it was worth a try.

When he arrived in the control room, though, it was empty. No Dr Rush in sight, his console abandoned. Eli stopped dead in his tracks and frowned. That was more than unusual. Maybe something had happened and nobody had told him? But then why was the ship so quiet with most of the crew asleep? Eli looked at the remote of his kino and decided to let it have a trip. See if he could find Dr Rush. So he sat down on his usual bench at the side of the room and pulled his legs under him, letting the kino leave the room. It flew through countless corridors, the rather empty mess hall, an entirely empty stargate room. The few people he crossed greeted him through the kino, everybody knew he was behind the flying camera balls.

When the kino passed the entrance to the observation deck, he wondered for a brief moment if it was even worth sending it in, because the chances of Rush being there were close to zero. But he might as well try, now that the kino was there anyway. So he made it slip in and take a look around, but there was no Dr Rush. Instead, Eli saw the Colonel sit on a bench, bend over with his elbows resting on his knees, his gaze lost in the vastness of space. There was an aura around him that made Eli uneasy, something between resignation, defeat and loneliness, something Eli had never seen him display before. It was then that Eli realized the Colonel was relaxing, letting down his guard in an unobserved moment away from the anxious eyes of the crew who always looked to him for guidance. Eli felt that he should leave, this was not something anybody should watch, it was a rare moment of privacy that he had no right of witnessing.

He was about to turn the kino when he saw Dr Rush entering its range of vision. Oh my, this was going to be a disaster. Colonel Young and Dr Rush didn't get along when they were both in a good mood – which the Colonel was obviously not right now – and Rush was probably the last thing he needed. Against his better judgement, Eli found himself glued to the screen again and watched how Dr Rush walked towards the Colonel who just looked up without moving. Rush didn't say a word, he just held the gaze and Eli had the impression that they had an entire conversation in that moment. Then, the Colonel straightened up a bit and opened his clasped hands and Eli didn't dare to believe his eyes when he saw Rush sit down on the floor in front of the bench, between the Colonel's legs, leaning with his back against the other man, one foot casually pushed under the railing. The Colonel folded his arms around Dr Rush's shoulders and Eli saw Rush wrap an arm around Young's leg in a somewhat possessive gesture, slowly relaxing into the closeness of the Colonel's presence. Young bend his head and pressed a light kiss on Rush's hair, then he rested his chin comfortably on his head.

Eli stared at the screen with his mouth hanging open in what must have been a spectacularly stupid expression, but he couldn't have cared less. This was certainly not what he had expected to happen. _Young_ and _Rush_? Young _and_ Rush?!? When had that happened? Yesterday, they'd been fighting – again, actually, because they fought about once per day at least – and now they were sitting on the observation deck _cuddling_? That was indeed a development. Dr Rush was as opposed to physical contact as a human being could possibly be, and Young wasn't the most physical person either. And it was strange as hell to see them so comfortable in each other's presence, especially considering _how_ close they were right now.

Eli's surprised musings were cut short when Dr Rush raised a hand to Colonel Young's cheek and turned his head towards him. They locked eyes and seemed yet again to communicate without words, then Rush pulled the Colonel down into a gentle kiss that was more about comfort, reassurance and simple physical closeness than sexual passion. He retreated and placed another short, chaste kiss on the Colonel's lips, then Rush leaned back against him, obviously comfortable in the embrace. Young's right hand came up to play with the long strands of Rush's hair in what was an obviously unconscious movement, almost like a habit. What shocked Eli the most was the familiarity of the gesture, the trust and the intimacy of the whole situation that was palpable even through the kino's screen. This wasn't the first time they were close, nor was it a fling, he was certain of that. This was real. The Colonel and Dr Rush were _together_ , and Eli was not certain what astonished him more about that, the fact that it were _them_ , the two most incompatible men he'd ever met, or that they must have been together for some time now and nobody had noticed. Him included, and he probably spent the most time with Dr Rush.

The situation on screen didn't change much over the next few minutes that Eli just couldn't help watching, his curiosity winning over his morale. The Colonel and Dr Rush just sat there on the observation deck in companionable silence, huddled against each other in comfort, watching the space outside the ship and the beautiful play of colours the FTL caused. They seemed so _peaceful_ , a word Eli would have never associated with them. Especially not together. He began to feel like an intruder and felt himself blush a little, slightly ashamed that he had dared to spy on such an intimate moment, and decided that it was time to carefully retreat the kino. Not that one of them spotted it – that would probably end with him dead. The question was just who would kill him, Dr Rush or the Colonel. But then, maybe they'd work together on that matter and just end his life by throwing him out of an airlock. For a moment, he thought that they were already scary on their own, but combined, working together instead of against each other, they had to be unstoppable.

The next day, when Eli returned from lunch, he found his kino on his console. It had obviously been dismantled into a state of no repair. Eli frowned in confusion and looked around the room, wondering who had been messing with his kino. When his gaze landed on Dr Rush, who was bend over his console in seemingly intense concentration, the man looked up and quietly raised an eyebrow.

Oh my. Eli felt the heat rise into his cheeks and swallowed. He wasn't entirely sure if that raised eyebrow had been a dare or a threat, but he was _certain_ he didn't want to find out.


End file.
